EXCLUSIVE U.S. to let Eni, Repsol ship Venezuela oil to Europe

[LessAspin]

Source: Reuters

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Exclusive: U.S. will allow two companies to ship Venezuelan oil to Europe

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Italian oil company Eni SpA and Spain's Repsol SA could begin shipping Venezuelan oil to Europe as soon as next month to make up for Russian crude, five people familiar with the matter said, resuming oil-for-debt swaps halted two years ago when Washington stepped up sanctions on Venezuela.

The volume of oil Eni and Repsol are expected to receive is not large, one of the people said, and any impact on global oil prices will be modest. But Washington's greenlight to resume Venezuela's long-frozen oil flows to Europe could provide a symbolic boost for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The U.S. State Department gave the nod to the two companies to resume shipments in a letter, the people said. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration hopes the Venezuelan crude can help Europe cut dependence on Russia and re-direct some of Venezuela's cargoes from China. Coaxing Maduro into restarting political talks with Venezuela's opposition is another aim, two of the people told Reuters...

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-us-let-eni-repsol-ship-venezuela-oil-europe-debt-sources-2022-06-05/

Read more: https://t.co/992yuz0cpp

[yaesu]

1. I read a few days ago that russia was sneaking their oil into the US other West countries by

switching their loads at sea to neutral tankers that belonged to their friends like Turkey who mix it with none embargoed oil for sale.

[RussBLib]

2. good news

It's time we loosened up the sanctions on Venezuela. And Biden could persuade the Saudis to up their output to lower the price of oil. They have done so before. Too bad MDS is a murderous thug, but sometimes you gotta play with the worst of them.

Trump would be cutting deals with VZ and SA to enrich his own family.

[Igel]

4. Some of the money will go to prop up Maduro,

and some will go to Putin.

The two are besties, and Russia owns a crapload of Venezuelan debt.

[oldsoftie]

6. OPEC is already increasing their output by over 600k a day starting in July.

The bigger fish IS Putin so I can see helping the EU (and maybe even OUR prices) by getting some VZ oil. But at some point they are going to have to deal with Maduro if they're ever gong to have a real country again

[Escurumbele]

8. Not good news, Maduro and Putin are in bed, there are many russians in Venezuela

I don't doubt Putin may be sending Russia's oil to Venezuela. Venezuela owes a lot of money to Russia as well, and that money has gone into Maduro's, Cabello's, and many of the corrupt military's pockets. Any money that comes into Venezuela will only make those people richer.

Venezuela is a very highly corrupt country, the regime never passes that money to help the citizens, they are addicted to money, they can never have enough.

[RussBLib]

11. ...and gasoline is $0.12/gallon in Venezuela

...and no, that does not make me want to move there, but it does produce some benefit to the people that have not fled VZ. VZ has begun importing Iranian heavy crude to feed its domestic refineries, even though VZ produces over 2 million BPD, and most of that is heavy crude. The deal with Iran includes export of VZ oil. I see that Credit Suisse is expecting growth of around 20% this year in VZ. Maybe we should quit threatening countries in our hemisphere, and elsewhere, with endless sanctions and try to work more productively with them.

Yeah, there are tyrants around the world. Shit, when has there not been? Having said all that, Putin still must be defeated in Ukraine, and Maduro ultimately needs to go too for more stability there. But they have to be dealt with in some fashion.

[Escurumbele]

15. The reality is that although gas is cheaper in Venezuela than most other places, people

can only get gas certain days of the week, they do it by some of the number in their license. For example, those that end in 1 can by gas on Monday, 2 on Tuesday and so on. You are also limited to the amount of gas you can buy. And because the corruption is widely rampant, people have to pay extra money for the gas attendants to "allow" them to buy the gas, otherwise they sell it to their gangs who turn around and sell the gas in the black market.

The fact that gas is cheap doesn't mean people are benefitting they way they should.

Why Venezuela is buying oil from Iran I don't understand, Venezuela has more oil than Iran, this must be Maduro and gang pocketing more money.

I think you need to read more about the atrocities that happen on a daily basis in Venezuela.

[Mr. Evil]

3. I hope I live to see the day

when someone, anyone, be it Congress, the president or both stands up and firmly states, "enough!" Then, in no uncertain terms, lays out the necessary transition from fossil fuels to clean renewables. No more protecting the money first at all costs. No more subsidies to the petroleum industry. Shareholders can cash out and be quiet.

When I'm out and about and see little kids and babies with their parents I just can't help but feel sorry for them. They have no idea what's in store for them in the next 30-50 years.

[oldsoftie]

7. How do you propose that be done without making ourselves bigger slaves to China?

"clean renewables" replacing Petro products is a fantasy with todays technology. Have you done any research on who supplies most of the critical components in batteries? Solar panels? Wind turbines? China. Have you done any research on just how much mining is required to make these batteries in large quantities? Have you thought about what to do with the parts when their life cycle runs out & they're NOT recyclable? What about the refusal to increase nuclear power output; the only real way to reduce reliance on oil?
There are simply not enough natural resources available to provide the power that just the EU & US needs to totally switch to electric cars et al.

[Escurumbele]

9. I have not done the research so I cannot argue about what you are saying, but

that is our government's fault for allowing corporations to outsource the technologies to other countries, but that has to be part of the plan, to bring those technologies back home.

It has to start somewhere, and one way is to do as the other blogger suggested, it will force oil companies to revise their business models to start placing their money into renewable power. Its not impossible as you suggest, but can be impossible if we don't make the first steps towards releasing ourselves from oil and petroleum products, plus the benefit that will bring to the planet and out quality of life. I think its worth it.

[oldsoftie]

19. We need another "moon shot" program for battery technology.

Or OTHER compact storage units. Look at all the things that the space program brought into the consumer world.
As the poster below linked; apparently there may be a huge source of lithium HERE. That would be fantastic & a great start to decoupling our critical items from adversarial countries like china.

[Mr. Evil]

10. Sorry I bothered you.

[oldsoftie]

18. Oh you didnt. Not at all! Its a discussion that needs to be had.

[Sogo]

12. This California desert could hold the key to powering all of America's electric cars

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/11/business/salton-sea-lithium-extraction/index.html

[oldsoftie]

20. Now THAT is the kind of news we need to hear. But Lithium is only 10% of a car battery.

We still have the problem of cobalt, nickel & manganese. Most of which is imported. And china has been locking down mining in places like Africa & South America; using, of course, OUR money to do it. And in Africa, we still have the We do have some "friendly" countries to rely on; such as Australia. But then we still have the issue of slave labor in Africa. And if china is running the show, you know they care nothing about workers health.
As I said in a post above, we need a "moon shot" style program to come up with better batteries or other ways to store power. If woe could double the lifespan of currently designed batteries that alone would have a huge impact.

[Javaman]

16. No kidding. My step daughter is having a baby.

I just weep to myself thinking of that little girls future.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I knew this would happen when we saw this diplomatic maneuver back in March

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142884726

Venezuela Releases Imprisoned Americans After Talks With U.S.

March 8, 2022, 6:59 p.m. ET
Anatoly Kurmanaev, Natalie Kitroeff and Kenneth P. Vogel


Venezuela’s authoritarian government on Tuesday released at least two imprisoned Americans, an American official and Venezuelan human rights defenders said, a potential turning point in the Biden administration’s relationship with Russia’s staunchest ally in the Western Hemisphere. The release followed a rare trip by a high-level U.S. delegation to Venezuela over the weekend to meet with President Nicolás Maduro, part of a broader Biden administration agenda in autocratic countries that may be rethinking their ties with President Vladimir V. Putin in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The talks with Venezuela, which has enormous proven oil reserves, assumed new urgency after President Biden announced Tuesday that the United States would ban Russian oil and gas imports because of the invasion. That move is expected to further tighten the availability of crude oil on the global market, and could raise gas prices at a moment when inflation has climbed at its fastest pace in 40 years. “This is a step that we’re taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be costs as well here in the United States,” Mr. Biden said of the ban on Russian oil.

American officials said that the prisoner release was not part of a deal with Venezuela to restart oil sales to the United States, which were banned under the Trump administration. For weeks, American business people who have worked in Venezuela have had back-channel discussions about resuming America’s oil trade with Mr. Maduro’s government.Venezuela could eventually help make up some of the shortfall caused by the ban on Russian oil. But industry experts warned that Venezuelan oil supplies would do little to tame American gas prices and inflation quickly.

Increasing the country’s production may take time after the years of mismanagement and underinvestment that have decimated the country’s energy sector. Prominent members of Congress have also come out against efforts to thaw relations with Mr. Maduro, whose government has been accused by the United Nations of systematic human rights violations.“Nicolás Maduro is a cancer to our hemisphere and we should not breathe new life into his reign of torture and murder,” Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who leads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday in a statement.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/world/americas/venezuela-american-prisoner-release.html

There is also this potential additional source that could happen - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2884869

April 19, 20213:57 PM EDT Last Updated a year ago
Aruba looks towards long-idled oil refinery, as tourism drop pummels economy
By Luc Cohen



SAN NICOLAS, Aruba, April 19 (Reuters) - A collapse in tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic has sent Aruba toward one of the world's biggest economic contractions, prompting the island to try to diversify beyond its sun and sand image, namely by restarting a long-idled oil refinery. Assistance from the Netherlands helped the Caribbean island finance a stimulus program, blunting the impact of the economy's 25.5% contraction on workers and businesses in 2020. That downturn was behind only Libya, Maldives and Venezuela, International Monetary Fund (IMF) data show.

But those subsidies led to an increase in Aruba's fiscal deficit to 17% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the IMF, prompting some experts and residents to argue the island should diversify its economy to ensure the government can balance its budget without Dutch assistance. The 67% drop in tourism arrivals was devastating for small businesses like Aruba Bob Snorkeling, which used to run multiple tours a day before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"When COVID came around, they just came crashing down to once a day, once or twice a week, and then to nothing at all," said instructor and part-owner Jesus Maduro, 30, while sipping coffee under the shade of solar panels in the company's tree-filled backyard. But the company kept up rent and electricity payments thanks to quarterly 4,000 florin ($2,247.19) subsidies from the government. Such payments helped keep company closures below 2019 levels, said Martijn Balkestein, executive director of Aruba's Chamber of Commerce.

As a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba is receiving assistance from Amsterdam. The Netherlands has agreed to cover Aruba's financing needs during the pandemic contingent on economic reforms, such as cuts in public sector salaries implemented last year. But Dutch officials have said they ultimately expect Aruba, as well as other constituent Caribbean islands Curacao and Sint Maarten - which are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but have autonomy over domestic affairs - to be self-reliant.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/aruba-looks-towards-long-idled-oil-refinery-tourism-drop-pummels-economy-2021-04-19/

[oldsoftie]

21. I was in Aruba in March & the people there were talking about it.

Apparently they used to produce a good amount. And they're close enough to VZ to possibly be tapping into the same reserves as they do. Maybe, I'm not sure how far these underground "oceans" of oil go.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to fire up something there

especially since the crude oil prices are high, although the tourism has slowly been coming back to places like that too.

If anyone, since Aruba is part of the Netherlands, and obviously Holland, the latter has been Russia's largest European oil importer and has been quietly impacted probably more than Germany (although there is a big geographic and population difference between the two and not sure of the total bbls they bring in).



(I know I keep posting this graph... )

[samsingh]

13. not sure why getting venezuelan oil out is taking so long

[Javaman]

17. the various parties involved have to figure out who gets what cut of the profit. nt

[Puppyjive]

14. Why does the US get to decide

Just a thought. Does the US control everything?

[oldsoftie]

22. Well, its either going to be the US, Russia or china for most major things.

OPEC is an outlier of that theory. Thats why the isolationist way of doing things will be bad for the US; most countries will align themselves with one of the "world powers". It would be best for us, and yes, the world, if most are aligned with the US. We're certainly not perfect, but we're definitely better than the other two

[ripcord]

24. Another way to bankroll Russia nt